The Nightingale
by Suzanne Cross
Summary: One hundred years ago, portals to another realm where demons and other evil beings dwelled opened and released these creatures on humanity. Only those who practiced the magic and spiritual arts could save the innocent from the fiends. Now, Muller Academy exists to train the new generation of Monster Hunters. This is Hannah Carswell's story. Book one of the Beast Series
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

One hundred years ago, mankind's eyes were opened to the world of evil. One of torture, monstrosities, and even death.

The world as we knew it changed forever.

Across the globe, portals known as _Hell Rips_ stained the blue of the skies a vivid, bloody red.

From The Rips, a storm of monsters, seen only in nightmares or horror movies, were unleashed upon humanity. Helpless, hopeless, humanity.

Spirits, demons, and monsters high on the thrill of the hunt and their newfound freedom, gorged themselves. They feasted, slaughtered, and sated their lusts for months until more than three billion of the world's population had been decimated.

Humanity never stood a chance.

December 21, 2012. Back then, they called it the end of the Mayan Calendar, the day the world was supposed to end. Now, we refer to it as Ragnarok.

Now magic has always existed in this world, though hidden to the untrained eye. Just, ironically, as the demons had been.

In humanity's most desperate hour, mages, exorcists, witches, spiritualists, demon hunters, and even faeries emerged from their place in the shadows to fight the minions of hell. Through various and unique techniques passed down from generations, those who practiced the arts managed to turn the tide on the Rip forces. Just enough for the soldiers to build barricades against the evil beings. Inside those barricades, communities of survivors gathered, to survive, to rebuild.

However, despite the barricades, minor skirmishes continued to erupt. The Rip in the sky remained, so too, did its inhabitants. In order to give Earth and its people a fighting chance, the wielders of magic began training citizens with the ability and potential to wield it. No longer were magical beings hidden from the world, invisible to normal people. No longer were their arts forced to remain in the family.

One German clan in particular, the extensive Mullers, became the largest clan to train new pupils to fight against the fiends. They trained so many, the head of the family, Hans Muller, created an academy in order to teach his family's _Summoning_ technique. The _Summoning_ allows humans, who possess high spiritual powers, to summon a holy weapon to fight against evil.

This is the story of Muller Monster Hunter's Academy's greatest seven students, who would change everything.


	2. Chapter 2

_The sun was shining so brightly and beautifully through the windows it almost seemed like nothing could ever go wrong on a day like this._

 _But looks could be deceiving._

 _Hannah Carswell knew she was dreaming. In fact, she knew exactly what was going to happen and when it would occur_.

 _She'd had the same dream perhaps more than a thousand times since that day. July 17, 2112. A day, she knew, she wouldn't ever forget. The dream always ended the same, no matter what._

 _Just as she always awoke from this dream with tears on her cheeks and a scream clawing up her throat._

 _Eight years old. She'd been eight, simply playing with her neighbor, and friend, Jane while her dad had been working._

 _Hannah found herself over at Jane's quite often. Not that she minded, she was proud of her dad and the job that kept him away. He would put his life on the line each and every day so that Hannah and the rest of their community could live in peace and safety._

 _Because her dad wasn't like other dads._

 _Beck Carswell was a Hunter. One of the few who could protect the innocent from the Rip monsters._

 _Hunter Nightingale, or simply The Nightingale, was his Hunter name, every Hunter had one._

 _She remembered asking him one night while he tucked her into bed. As simply as that, the dream switched to a memory, "Why did you pick a nightingale as your symbol, anyways?" young Hannah has asked as she traced the bird on his leather coat with a tiny finger. "Why not something cooler? Like a lion? Or even a Unicorn?"_

 _Her father had chuckled and said, "Well, it's believed that a nightingale's last song, the song that will release it from its earthly life, is always the most beautiful. I once read that in a book, you know, and it spoke to me."_

" _But what does that mean, Daddy?"_

 _Shaking his head with a smile, he simply leaned forward to press a kiss on her forehead, "When you're older, you'll understand."_

 _A pout formed on her mouth, "Awww, grownups always say that."_

 _That made her father grin as he tucked the blankets more securely around her, "Tough break, kid. Now, it's time for bed." Getting up from his place at her bedside, he went to the door and blew her a kiss, "Goodnight, Hannah Banana."_

" _HANNAH!"_

 _Without warning, the dream shifted from that night with her dad to the eventful sunny day in Jane's charming house._

 _Jane's bright green eyes twinkling, she held up a popsicle, "Mom says we can have one, as long as we don't make a mess." In her other hand, she clutched a half-eaten green one. The sticky juice already clung to her mouth and hands told Hannah that she'd already started on hers. "Ya want one?"_

 _It was a hot, July day in Salem Massachusetts, and the temptation of a tasty, icy treat seemed heavenly. She'd grinned, more than a couple of teeth missing, "Sure!"_

 _They opted to take our popsicles outside, because eight year olds and popsicles equals a mess. As the girls sat on the paint chipped front steps, savoring their icy treats, Hannah couldn't help but think of her dad. What was he up to right now? Could he be fighting a monster at this very moment?_

 _With their popsicles devoured, and with most of it covering their mouths and hands, they decided to play their favorite game, Monsters vs. Hunters._

 _Of course, Hannah wanted to be the Hunter, they both did, but since she got to be the Hunter last time they played, it was Jane's turn this time._

 _Crouching down, Hannah did her best monster impression. Lifting her arms, she curled her fingers into makeshift claws and sneered wickedly, baring her teeth in a hiss._

 _With a giggle, Jane grabbed a nearby stick and brandished it at Hannah as if it was a noble sword. "Give up, foul beast!" she boldly announced. "Fore you're no match for me, The Lovely Butterfly!" They'd come up their own hunter names, if that wasn't obvious._

 _Roaring, the so called "demon" stamped her feet as she circled The Butterfly, "Foolish mortal. Can you not see how sharp my claws are? I'll simply rip you to shreds before you will even touch me with your puny holy weapon." She made sure to use the evil laugh she'd practiced in the mirror._

 _And so, the young girls chased each other around the yard. Hannah, snarling and howling, and Jane, wielding her "sword", striking at her opponent with enthusiastic "Hiyahs"! They laughed and played, as only children can, until they were so tired that they simply fell back onto the soft grass._

 _For a while, they lay there, looking up at the clouds, pointing out the different shapes they could make out of the clouds._

" _Hey, Jane? What do you wanna be when you grow up?" Hannah asked as she glanced over at her best friend._

 _Jane's brows furrowed over her eyes as she thought, "Hm, well, I think I want to be a doctor like my mom. Mom helps make a lot of people happy. That's what I wanna do. What about you, Hannah?"_

 _She reached a hand out towards the sky, as if she might catch one of the clouds in her palm, "I want to be a Hunter, just like Dad." Serious as a heart attack, she met Jane's wide eyes with her hazel ones._

 _Jane "ooohed" at that, "But won't that will be awfully dangerous won't it?"_

 _Shrugging, she replied, "Yeah, so? Dad does it every day. Why can't I?_

" _Won't your dad be worried about you? I mean, I'll be worried about you, Hannah."_

 _Her heart melting a little, Hannah turned on her side and when Jane did the same, she took her friend's pinky in hers, "If I become a Hunter, I pinky promise you that I'll stay safe. I also promise that we'll always be friends, Jane."_

 _Jane smiled, and squeezed her pinky against Hannah's, "Best friends forever, right, Hannah?"_

" _Right."_

" _Jane? Hannah?" the voice from the porch belonged to Jane's mother, Rebecca Norman. "It's time to come inside."_

 _As a child, Hannah hadn't recognized the slight tremor in Ms. Norman's voice, or the barely contained anxiety hidden behind her words. It would be years later before she actually discovered it in her dreams. On second thought, make that her_ nightmares.

 _Hannah glanced up at the sky as she and Jane made their way back towards the house. She frowned when she realized the sun was about to set. That was strange, her dad usually picked her up by now._

 _Thinking nothing of it, she merely shrugged it off. He'd been late before, it was not that big of a deal._

 _When Jane's mother came into view, Hannah immediately sensed that something wasn't right. Ms. Norman stood on the creaky porch, her hands held before her and a white dish cloth clutched between them so tightly her knuckles had turned bone white. The sadness and tears in her red rimmed green eyes had Hannah's small eight year old heart pounding painfully._

 _Before she knew it, she burst into a sprint, she had to reach the porch as soon as she could, she just had to. Hannah was out of breath before she even stumbled up the steps and into Ms. Norman's arms._

 _Grabbing the ends of the old shirt Jane's mother wore, Hannah tugged anxiously, her heart in her eyes, "What's wrong? Where's my Daddy?" She never called her father "daddy" in public, she'd always thought it had sounded too babyish. She hadn't even noticed the slip in her words._

 _Kneeling down on one knee, Rebecca pushed back her short brown hair before she rested both shaky hands on Hannah's small shoulders. She met the young girls fear filled eyes and took a rattling breath in an attempt to compose herself before slowly releasing it._

 _Looking back, Hannah was positive that her father had been seeing Rebecca Norman. Her grief had seemed too great for the loss of her daughter's friend's parent._

" _Hannah," her name came out as a croak. "Your father," she swallowed down a sob. "There was an attack on the Boston settlement. And….your father, your father was injured."_


	3. Chapter 3

_Hannah never knew what it meant when people said "_ the world seemed to fall away beneath me" _, until that fateful day._

 _The wooden porch seemed to vanish beneath her feet. Her legs, suddenly went weak and rubbery, couldn't seem to support her weight and she fell backwards onto her butt. She fell hard, but she didn't feel the pain, in fact she couldn't seem to feel anything at all now. Her entire body felt numb. "Is he….is he-?" she was afraid to even breathe the word, for fear of the truth._

" _They've taken him to the hospital in Boston. The doctors will do everything that they can, honey."_ **But it doesn't look good**. _It was only when she got older that she was able to understand the hidden message behind her words, the thing she didn't say._

 _Releasing a heavy breath, Rebecca dropped her hands. Unable to look at Hannah in the eyes, she said, "I've called you uncle. He'll be here as soon as he can to take you to the hospital. Jane and I are going as well."_

 _She laid a comforting hand on Hannah's head as she rose, "Come on, sweetie, let's go inside while we wait."_

 _Jerking away from the warmth of her hand, the child stubbornly shook her head of short auburn hair, uncaring of the hot tears welling in her hazel eyes, threatening to spill. "That could take too long! I need to see him now!"_

" _Hannah-!"_

 _She didn't wait around to hear what she was about to say. Hannah whirled around, pushed her way past Jane, and took off like a bullet down the road. It never occurred to her that she didn't even know the way to Boston, or even how far it was. She never heard Jane and her mother shouting after her, the fact that she hadn't even put on her shoes didn't even cross her mind. All she cared about was getting to Boston, she just had to get there as fast as she could._

 _Hannah ran as fast as she could, her small arms pumping and her breath coming out in a harsh wheeze. She needed to get to the bus stop, from there she would catch a bus to Boston and see her Daddy. Rocks and sticks, along with other foreign objects, broke the tender skin of Hannah's feet as she ran, but she ignored the pain of her feet, ignored the sting of thorn bushes and branches as she pushed her way through brush._

 _Her father must've walked with her through the entire settlement of Salem, but her mind seemed to have drawn a blank. So she just blindly ran. She ran, and ran, until she simply couldn't run anymore._

 _Hunched over, her hands on her knees, she gasped for air like a fish out of water. She hadn't even gotten her breath back when a familiar car came into view and pulled up alongside her. The window of the old mustang rolled down and her frazzled uncle, Ben Carswell, stuck his head out._

" _Hannah, honey! Jesus! I've been looking all over for you ever since Rebecca called. Get in the car, sweetheart. We'll go see your dad!"_

 _Seeing her father's older brother, their faces so similar and with the same hazel eyes that even Hannah possessed. Hannah burst into harsh sobs, frozen in place as her grief welled up inside of her._

 _A soft curse was uttered from the car, and the sound of a door slamming seemed so very far away. But the next thing Hannah knew, she found herself in her uncle's arms as he carted her towards the car, murmuring soothing words as he went._

 _Her uncle gently pried her fingers away from his shirt as he settled her into the backseat of his car. He made sure he buckled the seatbelt across her lap before he jumped back in the driver's seat and sped off._

 _Hannah's tears slowed a little as they reached the gates of the community. She tuned out the voices of her uncle as he spoke to the soldier at the gate as she peered up at the same sky she'd been pointing out shapes, carefree as a bird, only an hour earlier._

 _As the car exited the iron gates, the last defense against any monster attacks if they somehow got past the hunters and the military. Hannah clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and prayed._ **God, it's me Hannah. I know you already heard that my Daddy's hurt. So, please, please, please, heal him. Don't let him leave me like mommy had to. I will do anything if you heal him. Amen**.

 _Hannah reopened her eyes and scanned the darkening sky, as if God's answer to her prayers would spell out across the heavens._

 _Just as the communities were, the roads were covered by domes in order to protect the people traveling from the demons that could fly. Every hour, the military would send out planes and choppers to search the roads to make sure that they were clear. If they weren't they would send word to the many checkpoints and rest areas set up along the road._

 _Hunters usually accompanied those choppers or planes. If Rip demons were spotted, then they would engage the enemy they'd been trained to kill. Other than that, the Hunters belonged to the government and went where the government asked them to go. That's why Hannah's father had been in Boston, he'd been asked to go there today for patrol._

 _Despite her fears for her father, Hannah found her eyes drooping. Her run of desperation and her bout of sobbing had drained her of all her energy and now her body called for rest._

 _Hannah tried to resist the pull of sleep, it was only about a forty minute drive to Boston and she wanted to pray as much as she could before they got to the hospital._

 _Hannah awoke to her Uncle Ben softly shaking her awake, "Hannah, we're here."_

 _Sitting up with a jerk, the little girl was instantly awake, all the sleep pushed from her brain. As her uncle helped her out of the car, she stared up at the hospital with wide eyes. Somewhere in there, she thought, my dad's waiting for me._

 _Since she wore no shoes, Uncle Ben decided to carry her. Hannah didn't protest, her legs felt too weak to support her anyway._

 _Clutching tightly to her only lifeline in a sea of fear and grief, Hannah was quiet as her uncle asked for directions to the Intensive Care Unit. The halls seemed empty, save for the few nurses and doctors performing their routine inspections. And the smell, she'd never liked the smell of hospitals. Every time you inhaled she smelled nothing but illness and death._

 _The man and the child arrived at the ICU's waiting room. Besides the two of them, and one lone woman hunched over in her chair in the corner, it was empty. Hannah wasn't sure if it was the dream's warped sense of reality, or her eight year old imagination, but the air and even the light in this section of the hospital seemed heavier and darker. As if the collective grief of the families and friends of patients here had accumulated and seeped into the very prescence of this wing._

 _Uncle Ben set her down in one of the hard waiting room chairs, "I'll be right back. I'm going to go ask the nurse when we can see your father." He kissed her hair and left._

 _Hannah pulled her legs up into the chair and wrapped her arms around them. Rocking back and forth, she told herself she wouldn't cry anymore. She was a big girl now and her daddy needed her to be strong._

 _Squeezing her eyes shut, Hannah rested her forehead on the tops of her knees. She hated it here! It was too cold, too quiet! She just wanted to take her dad home and never, ever, come to this horrible place again._

 _Pressure in the chair next to her told her that her uncle had returned. "The next visitation time is in twenty minutes, Hannah. When you hear a loud noise and the doors open, that means we can go in and see him. He's in room 3."_

 _The hoarseness in Uncle Ben's voice had Hannah peeking up at him from under her arms. He seemed like he'd aged ten years in minutes. His face seemed paler than it had before he'd gone to talk with the nurse. What did she say to him?_


	4. Chapter 4

_When you're a child, any amount of time spent waiting seemed like forever. It could be an hour, it could even be five minutes, yet it still seemed like you've waited twenty years._

 _The twenty minutes Hannah sat in that waiting room felt more like twenty years. Twice now she'd been tempted to just run through those double doors even though she knew she was not supposed to and would more than likely get in tons of trouble. She'd nearly done it too. The first time she just lost her nerve, but the second time she'd actually started to get out of her chair, but her uncle, as if sensing her intentions, caught her and set her back down. The stern look on his face told Hannah that she wasn't going to be able to get through those doors._

 _It was just so frustrating! Her daddy was so close! Just beyond those doors, he waited, most likely in pain, for her to come and see him._

 _When the blaring noise finally sliced through the heavy silence and the doors to ICU swung open, Hannah shot to her feet and was halfway across the room before her uncle caught her arm._

 _Jerking against his hold, she glared up at him, her small teeth bared in a feral snarl, "Let go!"_

 _His grip like steel, Uncle Ben shook his head, "There are other patients here, Hannah. We have to be quiet and respectful of those healing here. That means no running through the halls."_

 _Through the anger, she felt shame. She hadn't thought about the other people who might be lying in the beds here. Her uncle was right, she didn't want to cause anyone any pain. So, quiet as a mouse, Hannah clung to her uncle's hand and let him lead her through the hall._

 _She couldn't help but glance into some of the rooms as they went by, there were no doors so she was able to see pretty well. Most of them were empty, other times she saw people hooked up to so many wires and tubes that she thought they looked like robots._

 _It was so eerily quiet, it gave the little girl the creeps. The only sounds that pierced the continuous silence were the rhythmic beeps of heart monitors and the hiss of oxygen machines._

 _When her uncle suddenly stopped, Hannah kept going and bumped into his leg. Looking up at him, she noticed that his attention was fixated on the room before them. This must be room number three._

 _Cold chills of terror ran throughout her body, she forced herself to look into room number three._

 _A gasp of denial tore from her throat before her hands could catch it. Covering her mouth with both hands, Hannah's hazel eyes glued to her father._

 _He looked like the other robots. Beck Carswell had been hooked up to the same heart monitors and breathing machines as the other patients she'd seen in the halls. Half his head was covered in bandages, leaving only his nose, one of his eyes, and half his mouth visible to her. His black hair was gone, only to be replaced by ugly gashes the doctor had stitched up._

 _They hadn't bothered to put him in a hospital gown, instead his chest and abdomen sported heavy white bandages with red spots staining them. One of his legs had been elevated, sort of like she saw in cartoons, a big cast encircling the injured appendage._

 _Hannah felt herself take a few shaky steps backwards. No, this was wrong, this wasn't her daddy! It was someone that just looked like him, that's all, she told herself. Her head shook in denial, her daddy was so strong, he could never be hurt this bad._

 _Uncle Ben stepped up to a station near the door, taking one of the backless gowns, he held it up for Hannah, "Here, sweetie, you need to put this on to go inside."_

 _She felt as if she were frozen to the spot, she couldn't move forward, she couldn't run. All she could do was stand there and stare at the broken man that was her father._

 _Sighing, her uncle crouched beside her and pushed her arms into the gown for her, "I know this is difficult, Hannah. But we've got to be strong for your father, okay? He needs us more than ever right now. No, he needs_ you, _Hannah."_

 _With his words, she felt herself thaw a little. He was right, her daddy did need her. He needed her bad._

 _Taking a shaky breath, Hannah let Uncle Ben put the gown on her. She didn't hesitate when he next handed her some gloves and a face mask._

 _While she waited for him to adorn the same precautionary clothing, Hannah found herself studying her father again. Tears threatened to fall, their heat warming the icy skin of her cheeks. Once again, she found herself not wanting to enter the room. As if seeing the damage a monster had dealt up close would somehow make all this real._

 _Uncle Ben took her shaking hand once again. She heard him suck in a heavy breath before they took several cautious steps into room three._

 _As she approached, Hannah paled and rapidly covered her mouth and nose with her free hand. The room smelled like blood. A quick observation of her uncle's grimace told her that he smelled it too._

 _Uncle Ben stepped up to the bed, Hannah's hand still in his. The other hand gently settled over his older brother's. "Beck?" he croaked, his voice thick with emotion. "It's me, Ben." Hannah noticed her uncle's shoulders trembling. "I've brought Hannah with me."_

 _Silence followed, the machines whirring and beeping the only sounds to fill the room._

" _Dammit, Beck!" Hannah jumped at her uncle's sudden hiss. "I told you this whole Hunter business was a bad idea. Why? Why didn't you listen?"_

 _Her uncle fell quiet, as if he was waiting for a reply. But, when none came, she saw his broad shoulders slump in defeat. With a sigh, he released his brother's hand. An arm rose and she swore he swiped tears off his cheeks. She'd never seen her uncle or her father cry before._

 _His eyes were bright, but there were no tears when he turned to Hannah. Pointing towards the door, he told her, "I'll give you a few minutes alone. I'll be right outside if you need me, okay?"_

 _She almost shook her head, to beg him not to leave her alone. But, something inside of her told her she needed this time with her father, even if it were only for a few minutes. Hannah's head bobbed in a nod._

 _Once he'd left, Hannah stepped closer towards the bed, her hands were clutched in tight fists at her sides. It took a great amount of willpower for her to peel her fingers apart, raise her too-heavy arm, and hold her dad's hand._

 _It was cold. She almost flung his hand away. His hands had always been warm, very warm. The contrast was almost too much to take. Fighting through the sudden nausea that threatened, Hannah took a breath and gazed at her father's bruised and bandaged face._

" _I'm here, Daddy. Sorry it took so long." Hope burned brightly in her chest as she prayed that his eyes would open at any minute and he'd tell her that everything would be okay. Like he always did._

 _But Beck Carswell's eyes remained closed, the black lashes lay still on his cheeks._

 _Hannah hadn't realized she'd started crying until she felt a tear fall onto her arm. Chin trembling, she tried to stop them. Sniffing she huddled closer, some of her earlier wariness easing. "You're going to be okay, Daddy. You have to be, you're the best Hunter in the world and you'd never lose that easily," she said with both pride and anguish._

 _Not even a twitch in acknowledgment._

 _With a sob, Hannah lowered her head onto her father's hand. Savoring the feel of this skin against her cheek. "Please wake up, Daddy. Please."_

 _She wasn't sure how long she sat there with her face pressed to the back of her dad's hand, but when she felt a small twitch of his fingers, she sat up instantly. Her red-rimmed eyes going to his face._

 _When his lashes fluttered, Hannah held a hopeful breath. This was it! He was waking up!_

 _Turning to look over her shoulder, she saw that her uncle had been true to his word and was standing right outside the room, his back against the wall. She dared not leave her father's side for fear that if she did he'd fall back into unconciousness._

" _Uncle Ben," she whispered as loud as she could. "I think he's waking up."_

 _Dark head snapping to attention, Ben hurried into the room to come stand at her side. "He's been given a lot of medication, Hannah. He shouldn't be awake."_

 _She frowned, but never took her eyes from her father's face, "But his hand moved, and his eyes twitched. I saw it. Watch." Hannah didn't bother to make sure he was indeed watching, she leaned forward and crooned, "Daddy? Can you hear me?"_

 _His eyelids twitched again._

" _There you see!"_

" _I'll be damned. Beck? Come back to us, Beck."_

 _Lids lifting slowly, as if they weighed a ton, Beck Carswell's hazel eyes focused on his brother and his child. His gaze was dazed, from either pain or the medication, but Hannah was just glad to see his eyes open, she didn't care what they looked like._

" _Daddy! How are you feeling? Are you going to be okay?"_

 _Her uncle placed a restraining hand on her shoulder, "Hannah, calm down. Remember, he's in a lot of pain right now."_

 _Hannah shut her mouth, but her eyes still focused happily on her father._

 _Beck opened his mouth to say something but all that came out was a hoarse croak. Licking his lips, he tried again, "Hannah. Come closer."_

 _His voice was barely more than a whisper, but she could hear it perfectly. Deciding closer meant to get on the hospital bed, she tried to hoist herself up, but found her skinny arms to be too weak. She was grateful when Uncle Ben lifted her the rest of the way._

 _Mindful of his wounds, she sat as close to her father as she dared. Taking his hand in both of hers, she tried to give him some of the warmth from her palms. "What is it, Daddy?"_

 _Beck's breathing was shallow, and something sounded as if it were rattling inside his chest, but a pained smile tugged at his lips. Removing his hand from hers, he raised his arm and cupped her cheek in his palm. Hannah preciously held it to her face._

" _I'm sorry, baby." His hazel eyes welled with tears and spilled over his cheeks. A cough tore from his throat, so violent that it shook the whole bed. Blood seeped from the corner of her father's mouth, but he still smiled._

 _Hannah's wide eyes met her uncle's, they exchanged a frantic glance before he moved to press a button on the wall above her father's head._

 _Beck brought his daughter's attention back to him. "This is it, honey. This is my last song, so listen well." He blinked away the tears, but he still managed a smile,"I will always watch over you, baby. When you're lost and alone, just know that I'll be there to offer you guidance. When you're in trouble, I'll stand by you, lending you my strength. I do not depart this world willingly, but I will not fight death's arms. And," he brought her tiny hand to his mouth, pressing a bloody kiss to her palm, "I'll always love you, Hannah Banana."_

 _Sobs racked through Hannah's small body, she knew what he was doing. He was saying goodbye. "Daddy, please-!"_

 _When a loud beep tore through the silence of the room, Hannah's eyes flew open. Her father's eyes had fallen closed. His chest was still and he didn't take another breath._

 _He was gone._

 _Hannah vaguely heard her uncle's curses, her attention remained locked on her father's face._

 _Beck Carswell had died with a smile on his face, his expression even peaceful._

" _DADDY!" Hannah, no longer caring about the other patients in the wing, screamed at the top of her longs. She screamed her denial, she begged for him to come back. When a doctor and a nurse rushed in the room, she fought her uncle as he pried her away from her father. Her screams continued as they checked her dad's pulse, as they tried to revived him three times._

 _Hannah continued to scream, as Uncle Ben pressed her face against his shoulder and hurried down the hallway, away from her father's body_


	5. Chapter 5

Hannah jolted awake from the dream and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes that always followed the flashbacks from her past.

Covering a yawn with her hand, she took a minute to stretch her stiff muscles before gauging their location via the backseat window.

Trees, she noted, nothing but trees and empty countryside greeted her tired eyes. Resting her head back against the headrest, she cut her eyes towards the front. Uncle Ben was all focus, both hands on the wheel, eyes forward.

He wasn't very happy with her at the moment. Hadn't been, she admitted, since her sixteenth birthday. The day she'd told him about applying to Muller academy a year ago.

Her father's death hadn't diminished her dreams in the slightest, if anything it only solidified her decision of following in her father's footsteps.

She remembered the night she told him she was applying to Muller Academy quite vividly. He'd been furious, she remembered. Furious and terrified, for her, and he'd managed to convince her to wait to send in her application for another year.

"I forbid it, Hannah!" he'd seethed. His hazel eyes, so like her own, burned with anger and a smidgen of fear. "Do you want to end up like your father? Do you want to die?"

His words had caused her heart to clench with pain, but she'd been expecting the verbal jab. Hannah knew he loved her and only wanted what was best for her, but, ultimately, only she knew what was best for herself.

So she'd shrugged, "It's a part of the job. I know the risks, and I'm prepared for the worst it has to offer." Looking up from her favorite meal of a medium rare sirloin and a fat baked potato, she'd met her uncle's eyes, "It's my life, Uncle Ben. My life, my choice."

So much anguish had marked his face, she'd had to practically bite her tongue to keep herself from taking back her words.

"I," he glanced away and loudly cleared his throat. "I just don't want to lose you too, Hannah. Does that make me the bad guy?"

Her heart, which she'd purposely hardened to remain firm in this argument, melted at the emotion thickening his voice. Getting to her feet, she'd rounded the table to embrace him. Resting her cheek against his graying hair, she whispered, "No, it doesn't. But this is what I want. I know this is what I'm meant to do. Please try to understand."

Drawing away, he'd searched her face. A ghost of a smile then lifted his lips, "You know, when your dad first told me he wanted to be a Hunter, we had a very similar conversation."

She hadn't known that, and she'd told him so.

"We argued, nearly punched the daylights out of each other. But, finally, he'd looked me in the eyes and said 'Ben, this is what I'm meant to do', just as you did. And you know what?" He cupped her chin in his hand, "He had the same look in his eyes as you do now. When I saw that look, I knew nothing I said would change his mind. So, I know nothing's going to change yours, you're too much like him. Just know, Hannah, that no matter what happens, I love you very much."

And with that, he'd grudgingly given her his permission. His only request that she wait till she was seventeen to put in her application to the academy.

Now, here she was, on her way to Muller Academy. On May sixteenth, the day she turned seventeen, she'd sent her application to the academy via mail. A few weeks later she'd screamed and did a happy dance when she received the Letter of Acknowledgment.

It was only for a trial, or as they called it the Assessment. Hannah tried, although it was in vain, to quell her excitement and not get her hopes up. They had to test every potential student to see if they possessed enough spiritual power to train and study at the prestigious academy.

She had to pass the trial, she just had to. She was her father's daughter after all, there shouldn't be a reason that she didn't possess the same potential as he had. But, if she wasn't accepted into the school, her hopes and dreams would be crushed.

Hannah, once again, sneaked a glance at her uncle. He'd been just as nervous, perhaps even more so, as they'd pulled away from the house this morning. Though he hadn't shared her restless excitement, she understood completely. In his case, he probably didn't know whether he wanted her to succeed or fail.

It was a long drive to Berlin, Maryland where the academy was located. And what better place for a German school than in a town called Berlin? Uncle Ben wouldn't let her fly there, claiming flying was just too dangerous. And for her to drive the seven and a half hours on her own was definitely out of the question. The stubborn old man had told her he would drive the entire way, and that was that.

She didn't mind, not really. Her stomach was too tangled up with nerves to sit still behind the wheel for such a long period of time. Plus, she could use the company.

Not long after she'd taken her seat in the back seat of the Honda Civic (once Uncle Ben had become her legal guardian, he'd traded in the mustang for something more "kid friendly"), Hannah had felt herself start to drift off, her lack of sleep the night before catching up with her.

The sun was up higher now, she noted. The sky, nearly free of clouds, on this hot June day. She must've been out for a few hours at least.

"Good afternoon, Miss Sleepy Head," Uncle called back after spotting her awake in the rearview mirror.

Hannah smiled at him, and stretched her arms out at her sides, "How long was I out for?"

After a quick look at the car's clock, he replied, "About five hours."

Surprise had her blinking at him, "Seriously?!"

He nodded, "It's now eleven o'clock."

Hannah patted her stomach with a laugh after it let out a grumble of protest, "That explains why I woke up starving. Are we close to a settlement?"

"Not far, about another thirty minutes or so. We're making good progress, so we'll stop there to eat and get out of this car for a little while."

Hannah glanced out the window again, she looked past the car's reflection in the dome's glass and scoured the countryside. "You haven't seen any Rips have you?"

Ben shook his head, "No, thank God." He hesitated a moment before continuing, almost as if he were reluctant to tell her what he had to say, "But from what I hear on the news, there have been an unusually large amount appearing in the cities."

That got her attention, "Such as?"

"Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York are the hardest hit. Though it's not just in the United States. Places like Paris, Tokyo, Jerusalem, and London are becoming dangerous to live in."

"What about D.C.?" Hannah asked, knowing that this was the real threat to me since the Academy was only about two hours from the nation's capital. And, she recalled Washington had been the site of the first and largest Hell Rip a hundred years ago.

When her uncle wouldn't answer, Hannah felt her throat tighten in apprehension. "Uncle Ben?"

Letting out a weary sigh, he grudgingly answered, "D.C. is being hit the hardest. Hunters are having to be stationed there permanently in order to keep the city safe." The worry in his eyes that hadn't fully left since my sixteenth birthday, intensified, "It's gotten so bad that they've started to evacuate citizens."

This was all news to her, but at seventeen you don't watch or listen to the news all that much. Your main focus is school and hanging out with your friends. The last few months the only thing that had been on Hannah's mind was the Academy and not much else. But, Uncle Ben had been paying attention.

She glanced up in surprise when she felt the car start to slow. Uncle Ben had pulled the car over to the shoulder. Twisting his torso, he turned around to speak to her face to face. Hannah could tell by the seriousness of his expression what he wanted to say.

"Are you sure about this Hannah? I mean, really sure?" Before she could say anything he held up a hand, "Just hear me out. Now that the danger has increased and you know what you're walking into, can you say with absolute certainty that this is what you want? If it's not, then I have no problem with turning this car around and going straight home." His mouth remained firm, but his eyes softened a tad, "But, if you understand the risks and challenges that await you and still accept them, then I will support you to the best of my ability. I won't like it and I will worry about you every day, but I will support your decision."

Hannah smiled, there was no way she was going to change her mind. Not now, not ever. But she understood his concern and she appreciated that he told her about the rise in attacks, even if it was a tactic to scare her out of this whole thing. It just meant that he loved her and he wanted what was best for her. And even though he was terrified, he still respected her decision. Could she ask for a better uncle?

But all she said was, "I love you, Uncle Ben."

His stiff expression melted in defeat, "You're not going to change your mind are you?"

Hannah shook her head.

With a shake of his head, he settled back into the driver's seat while mumbling, only partially, to himself, "How did I raise such a stubborn girl?"

Hannah laughed, "I learned from the best."


End file.
